Abject failure to deal head on with a series of scandals has done irreparable damage. There has been a clamour amongst its enemies to tear down its structures; but by far the greatest reputational threat to its standing has come from within.

Confirmation by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin that he would no longer be sending priests of the Dublin Diocese to St Patrick's College, Maynooth, and would instead be sending them to the Irish College in Rome, begs many questions.

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